Passing

The thing I find most striking about Passing so far is the relationship between Irene and Clare. Irene is often irritated by Clare and frequently vows to stop speaking to her. Yet each time Irene sees Clare, she is overcome with warm feelings toward her and gives in to all of Clare's wishes. Clare has a certain magnetic quality, perhaps due in part to her beauty, that keeps drawing Irene back to her.

The two characters are also drawn together by what appears to be a mutual fascination with each other. Irene is both horrified and fascinated by Clare's chosen lifestyle of constantly passing. Clare, meanwhile, yearns to reconnect with the African-American community and sees Irene as her key to be able to do this. Clare sometimes feels used because of this, but ultimately continue her relationship with Clare because of her continued fascination and enchantment. Irene's feelings are very strong but they alternate depending on Clare's presence. She seems to have a love-hate relationship with Clare.

Ethnic Notions

The movie we watched in class contained a wealth of interesting material about cultural stereotypes and their extremely common presence in our society not very long ago. The harmful effect of such stereotypes- despite their often lighthearted intent- is clear. Although these images are based on falsehoods and gross exaggeration's- they are often internalized by white audiences as genuine reasons that 'they' are different from 'us'. The image of African-Americans as inferior becomes ingrained from the repeated use of these images.

The fact that some of these images remain with us is a reminder that institutionalized racism was common in this country not long ago, relatively speaking. However, I think that because these images are relatively few and unnoticed (e.g. Aunt Jemima or Uncle Ben), they do not have nearly the societal impact they once did, if they still have any at all. More interesting, I think, is the fact that stereotypes are still being played for laughs. Although most racist caricatures were long ago retired, we've all seen movies or stand-up comedy that relies on worn-out racial stereotypes. I think this is probably the most troublesome legacy of racial images, because people are inclined to repeat and internalize this kind of mass entertainment.

Mary Elizabeth/ The Task of Negro Womanhood

After reading both of these pieces, I noticed a theme emerge. Both works highlight the often uncomfortable process of African-Americas moving up from slavery and oppression into the ranks of the middle class. In Mary Elizabeth, the narrator is shocked by Mary Elizabeth's tale of her father being sold by his master and sent far from his family, only to return years later. The tale reminds her of how close she is, historically, to slavery and oppression, despite her seemingly comfortable middle-class existence. This allows her to overlook the petty dispute with her husband that morning and be thankful for the security of their situation.

The Task of Negro Womanhood expands on these themes in more concrete terms. It gives numerous examples about the challenges associated with 'the Negro woman' moving up the socioeconomic ladder: the difficulty of affluent African-Americans finding peers and kindred spirits, the difficulty of finding professional jobs in white-dominated America despite qualifications, fear of competition on the part of white women, etc. This reading comes from The New Negro, and is therefore focused on this new kind of African-American who is working her way up the economic ladder and suffering the challenges that come with being a pioneer.

Cane

I wasn't sure what to expect from Cane. I was suprised to see that it's an unusual collection of poems and short story snippets. It seems a little disjointed at first, but it does a good job of painting a sort of impressionistic image of the setting Jean Toomer is describing, which appears to be the rural south.

One piece that struck me as particularity interesting is Becky. It's a story about "the white woman who had two Negro sons". The piece gives an interesting insight into how interracial births- then known as miscegenation- were viewed. Becky is shunned as an outcast from both black and white society for her actions. The town seems to feel a little guilty about its actions though- as people bring food to Becky's isolated home, unknown to each other. Becky remains an outcast, however, and society doesn't know what to do with her two sons. Without any sort of acceptable place in society- black or white- the two boys shoot 2 men and leave town, cursing both the white and black townspeople. Becky, meanwhile, dies when her chimney collapses. It all seems rather senseless. I think this serves to highlight the senselessness of shunning people from society due to race-related issues.

The Poems of Claude McKay

What struck me most of about Claude McKay's poems were his profoundly sad and negative views of America. This was a surprise at first, as most literature read in school paints the picture of America as the land of dreams and freedom. The White House, for example paints a picture of an entire world where the "door is shut against [his] tightened face". In America, McKay references the country's "hate" and says that it feeds him "bread of bitterness". In The Negro Dancers, McKay expresses bewilderment at the ability of African-Americans to express such joy and fun through dance: "How can they thus consent to joy and mirth/ Who live beneath a world-eternal ban". McKay's view of America is through the lens of oppression and discrimination.

Whats interesting is that McKay does not seem to count himself among those dancing masses. His thoughts remain negative despite the dancing and fun he describes. This may be because McKay is an immigrant, and thus not used to the race relations that are unique to America. He was born in Jamaica, and his memories of that country often echo in his poems. The Tropics in New York is a poem about how the fruit stands in New York bring back sweet memories of his native land, causing him to weep. Home Thoughts is similarly a yearning for the memories of his homeland. The incredible contrast of McKay's writing about America compared to his writing about Jamaica makes me wonder what Jamaica was like in comparison to the United States at the time of his writing.

Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man

The thing I found most interesting about this portion of the book is the narrator's descriptions of "the club" that he discovers in Harlem. Although the book was published in 1912, the descriptions of the club make it seem that this is an important and early indication of Harlem's renaissance. The people inside are happy and excited, many of them are well-off, and all black culture is generally reflected in a very positive light at this club.

The narrator makes a point of speaking highly of ragtime music, which is popular at the club. He describes it as exclusively a product of African-American culture, unlike many other forms of music. The narrator's enthusiasm for ragtime comes across as significant and sincere because so much of his life is expressed through music. Ragtime is so good, the music gains popularity in America and around the world. Its also an interesting comment on race relation that this music gained a wider audience in part after its co-opted by white people. The popularity of ragtime seems to fit well with the wider themes of the Harlem Renaissance: it illustrates the flourishing of African-American culture and the influence of that culture on the outside world.

Hi

Hi, my name is Nick Iorio and I just transferred to St. Rose this semester as a Junior. I'm a History/ Political Science Major. I've always liked reading and I look forward to seeing what we'll read in this class.